Harvest Moon: Tree of Despair
by amyxrollsxonxfloor
Summary: My story is not what you are used to, this story is not happy, it is not fun, it is not full of trusting words or joyous relationships. My story is filled with hatred, heartbreak, the falling of hope, the crashing and burning of faith itself.-Dark HM:ToT-
1. Prologue

'_When I arrived here it was not like some beautiful game where this little island still had people full of hope, love, and friendship. It was not an island that everyone loved and wished to stay on but simply an island where their pride was much too big to force themselves to leave. I took an old-creaky ship here thinking paradise was what I was on my way to, but reality is much different than actuality.'_

* * *

I grinned as the boat stopped, the old captain Pascal smiled warily at me as if unsure of what was going through my head and what I expected. But clearly as I walked onto the island expecting a welcome to remember I was greeted by no one, a frown etched my face and without a doubt I thought something completely different would happen, maybe a parade in my honor? Instead a short, fat, old man walked towards me he was wearing all blue and had a slightly forced smile on his face.

"Ah hello you must be the new rancher," he sounded unsure for a moment but looked slightly relieved when I nodded. "Oh good, I'm sorry you can't have much more of a welcome, as you can see this place is pretty…." He was looking for a good word.

"Dead?" I asked, he looked down at the ground awkwardly shuffling his tiny feet, I felt bad for saying it so coldly to him.

"I'm Angela."

I hold my hand out for him and he quickly takes it shaking it briefly.

"I am Hamilton, the mayor of Waffle Town."

I know what you must be thinking, Waffle Town? Yes that's the name of this place I don't control it so you'll have to bear with it for me. I tell him it's a pleasure to meet him and he nods showing me around. There wasn't much to see.

The Inn was the first place I found myself in, four people walked around looking slightly bored as if there was nothing to do because obviously there wasn't. A young girl was the first to greet me with her annoyingly fake bubbly attitude, her waitress dress was a light pink that came to her knees, and it had a black bow around the collar, a white apron wrapped around her. Her hair stood out with a light orange color that came to her lower neck, two mini braids on either side by her covered ears. I almost flinched at her bubbly 'can I get you anything?' I'm sure I didn't come by as nice when I said no. I learnt her name was Maya after that.

I was greeted by her father Jake and her mother Colleen; they didn't even seem to try to be cheerful for me which made me almost wish for Maya's fake attitude back. I sigh as we walk into the Kitchen where I saw an old woman bustling around the kitchen with a very serious expression on her face, or perhaps that was her normal face. She turned around at the mayors greeting, introduced herself as Yolanda and hurried us out of the kitchen saying she was creating a new dish that was sure to bring people here. I don't think even food can help.

I had the Inn door slammed behind me, they acted strangely. Hamilton looked at me curiously as if trying to figure out what I was thinking; I smiled politely down at him before we continued walking. A young man suddenly appeared walking at a brisk pace, Hamilton's face broke into the first real smile as he ran towards the man was fast as his little legs could go.

"Gill!" Hamilton roared, the young man froze turning around slowly to come face to face with Hamilton who almost ran right into him.

"What father?" Gill's voice was as cold as December air,

"I'd like you to meet Angela, she's our new farmer." They both exchanged the same look towards each other, a look I couldn't read.

Gill looked over at me and nodded, he had frozen blue eyes that glittered with a cold hatred towards me, his pale blonde hair looked almost white as the weak sun hit it, one part of his perfect hair stood up and when he noticed I noticed it he tried to push it down though he failed. He wore white tuxedo pants, a blue collared shirt, over it he wore a white and blue vest, a beautiful golden brooch, Gill also had on blue shoes with a matching tie. I looked down at myself, I felt a bit ordinary when I looked at Gill.

"I'll take you to the Town Hall." His voice was slightly smug, as if he knew what I was thinking, I nodded then looked towards Hamilton who ran off to do other things yelling back that he'd meet up with me soon. I sigh and walk next to Gill. It was silent the whole way there.

"So," I say trying to start a conversation. Gill took an annoyed deep breath,

"Welcome to Waffle Island, my name is Gill I am to be the next mayor when my father retires or dies, I don't like small talk so don't try, when in the Town Hall you are there to either check out a book, buy property, or look up something on our citizens. I do not need you to bug me or Elli as we work." He says this as though it is obvious and as though he doesn't care about me. That hurt.

I look down at the ground feeling a lot more than hurt at his words so I keep my mouth shut not even bothering to look at him. We walk into the Town Hall which has to be the most beautiful building here, I look around it's small, a large desk was in the back, which I figured was the mayors, there were to chairs behind a counter, one held a pretty girl wearing a blue dress, a white apron wrapped around it and on her neck there was a black and red bow, her brown hair went to her neck, but that was in the back it got shorter as it went up to her head. It suited her.

She stands up and walks towards me holding out her hand and smiling sweetly, I wonder if this is fake like everyone else's but I waste no time in taking it and smiling back.

"Welcome to Waffle Island, my name is Elli." Her voice is sweet, and I smile bigger I could become good friends with her I know!

"My name is Angela, I'm the new farmer." This makes her smile falter but she nods her head.

"We can talk over a cup of tea later, for now I have to get back to work, it was very nice to meet you Angela." With that she turns and returns to her chair where she is filling out papers.

Gill clears his throat, I turn quickly towards him with a slight glare but he doesn't seem to notice as he slips past me and goes behind the other counter area, he asks me to smile for a picture I blink at him before giving him one of my best smiles, he hesitates before taking the picture with an older camera that popped out the picture right from the front. He waves the blank picture, so not to mess it up as it clears up and a picture of me appears. I have to say I look pretty good in the picture! Gill glues it carefully onto a pink colored piece of paper motions for me to come closer to the counter, so I do.

"This is your citizenship card, fill it out with your name, the season your birthday is on and the date of said season, and also fill out some of your favorite foods." I'm getting annoyed with his cold monotone voice! And what did he mean by the season and date? There are many months in a season! So I chose to do an educated guess on what he meant.

This is what I had to fill out:

Name: Angela Web

Birthday: Winter 14th(December 14th)

Favorite Foods: Grapes, all fruit, bacon, fries, pizza, chili, orange juice, tomato soup...

Yeah that's it there was a lot more in the food department, so much I think I went overboard especially when Gill took it, looked it over and an eyebrow rose, he silently pulled out a little box that had a few cards of two colors: pink and blue, and put it in before closing it with a snap that made Elli and me both jump but Gill didn't even say sorry.

"Here, it's a map of this place."

I nodded and took it opening it up, I felt sad suddenly this map showed only a small handful of places that were still open; The Inn, Dale's Carpentry, Town Hall, Blacksmith's, and On-The-Hook. I smile at the familiar name, On-The-Hook fish used to be very popular my mother used to buy it all the time and even when the quality of fish fell she still bought them saying, with that sweet smile of hers, that everyone falls it just takes a little bit to lift yourself up. She still would be buying them if, I shook my head not wanting to think of that.

I turn and walk out, feeling suddenly exhausted as I dragged myself down the stairs into the main part of Waffle Town, Hamilton was pacing looking a bit worried and when he spotted me he waddled over to me pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to me.

"Pick a land where you want to live on, there are already houses built there I just want to know which on you want." His voice seemed to rush me and I nodded looking through, I chose the Mountain Area because it had a bigger field to grow crops on, he simply nodded breathing out.

"Follow me then."

As I followed him I looked around, the land was in bloom all around me which made me frown, when I got onto the boat it was summer I swear it was, actually it was June 5th but here it looks like Spring just started I could even feel the fading of Winter. I looked at Hamilton as we passed broken down houses, plots of land covered with weeds, trees, tree stumps, and boulders.

"What's the date?" I asked as he pointed towards my house, it looked like everything else around here, old and broken but I couldn't feel upset.

Hamilton looked up at me, I saw something glint in his eyes and I realized finally what was wrong with all these people.

"Monday, Spring the 1st." Was his answer as he opened the door for me, "Angela you'll find this place is a lot different than what you're used to."

I shivered at the tone of voice his words was used in, what was wrong with these people is that they rejected me, they hated me, and they didn't want me here and I didn't even want to be here but they needed me and I couldn't look past that. Hamilton closed the door of my house with a snap, and I was left in the dark.

* * *

'_My story is not what you are used to, this story is not happy, it is not fun, it is not full of trusting words or joyous relationships. My story is filled with hatred, heartbreak, the falling of hope, the crashing and burning of faith itself. There is no smiling sprites, no calling Harvest Goddess, there is only human mistakes and mistrust of the land around them which caused the Mother Tree to die, the Harvest Goddess to flee, and the Sprites to grow dark with their hatred of being left behind by the Harvest Goddess. Rainbows do not stay forever. And you can't trust anyone.'_


	2. Chapter 1

'_My first day on the farm and I learnt a valuable tip, don't ask questions or you might get an answer you don't really want. Perhaps it was just stupid for me to believe questions answer everything, the only answers I get cause me hurt and make more questions appear.'_

* * *

I woke up as a sharp knock made me jump right out of bed, I took a deep breath letting it slowly out when I realized it was only someone at my door I wondered who sense it seems no one here would be the visiting type. I pull on some cloths as the person on the other side of the door knocked again causing me to roll my eyes as I yawned stretching. It was 6am can't a girl look as though she's been up this whole time without being rushed? I didn't know how this farming thing was going to go but it was worth the shot right?

"Coming!" I yelled fixing my hair a little before opening up the door.

In front of me was a very annoyed looking Hamilton who huffed slightly when I finally opened the door, I smiled an apologetic smile he shook his head. He suddenly held out a bag to me smiling slightly,

"It's a rucksack you can keep all your things in here."

I frowned at him, "I don't know about all my things Hamilton." He chuckled sourly as if he knew I was going to say that and maybe he did know I don't know.

I stared wide eyed as he pulled out a watering can from the rucksack, he seemed pleased with my confused emotions, and I looked at him with a curious expression.

"Mayor Hamilton…how does that happen?" I ask, Hamilton looked at me like someone would look at a child who spoke when they weren't supposed to.

"They say the Harvest Goddess made this with her own hands." Hamilton spoke and the way he said it was with anger and betrayal though it was covered well I could still understand what he was feeling.

"What happened to her?" Oh questions keep escaping my mouth, and Hamilton turned around,

"She left."

That was that no more questions could be asked as he walked away I froze and looked down at my feet unsure of why I felt so terrible I could practically see answers right in front of me! I just can't reach out far enough. I pushed the feeling away, and inside my rucksack I was able to pull out a hoe, I set the watering can and hoe down and looked at my fields sighing, I'll do it later.

I saw my mailbox and went to go check it out, a little letter was in there and I read it and this is what it said:

_Dear Angela,_

_If you need seeds go down to the abandoned _Soufflé_ Farm, inside there should be plenty of seeds take as much as you may need._

_From your Mayor,_

_Hamilton_

I glared at the path Hamilton went down, so he couldn't wait to leave huh? I pull my rucksack on my shoulders and walk down the path to the Maple Lake District, I stare around it is a beautiful place really. But something feels off, especially when I walk past a tree by the little Pond/Lake and saw a large tree with a very dark blue flower, but the flower looked almost wilted it's petals darkening, it was only Spring 2 how could a flower have bloomed so fast and wilted? I looked away shivering, something was very off around here. I looked at my map, I was in the Ganache Mine District, looking to my left I spotted a large building and I slowly walked up my eyes narrowed slightly this looked like a large farm…why was it abandoned?

I licked my lips as I opened the door and walked it, the door creaked dust flew from everywhere and I coughed loudly, the door closed behind me with a slam making me jump. I rubbed my eyes constantly desperate to see something through the dust that clouded my eyes. I felt unwelcomed but I wondered how I could feel like that in a place void of human life long enough for dust to form in every corner and crack.

I finally was able to see, and there was wilted flower petals were everywhere, chairs were overturned, the windows were cracked and the place was a complete mess as if someone had left in a hurry for some reason. I didn't wish to dig much deeper than that.

I opened the very large cabinet behind a desk finding the jackpot I was looking for, I grab Turnip Seeds, Potato Seeds, Strawberry Seeds, Cabbage Seeds, and Breadfruit seeds and I smile slightly this might be a bit too much but I wanted to start making some money now! I mean I only have like 500G!

I quickly escaped the strange place without even feeling the need to turn back, actually I never wanted to come back but I probably will have to next season or later this season if I need seeds. I stare at the map again and see that there's a shorter way to cut through into Carmel River District, taking any way other than through Maple Lake seemed perfectly relaxing to me!

I ran over to where the Carpenters and Blacksmiths were, I suddenly tripped falling flat on my face, I lifted myself up rubbing my eyes because dirt got in them, I hoped no one saw that I mean it was only my second day here, and first day on the job and already I embarrassed myself.

"You okay?" a gruff voice suddenly appeared making me jump up with a squeak, I was now on my feet staring right at a old man with white hair, balding at the top though, he had permanent scowl lines engraved upon his face from years of the glare he was giving me.

"Y-yeah. Thanks." I stutter the old man stared at me before walking slowly away and into Ramsey's Blacksmith's and I suddenly believe I met Ramsey. I wipe off my jeans and I'm about to continue on my way but a voice stopped me.

"Heh, he must have been a bit worried to ask the new farmer girl if she was okay." From the sound of the unfamiliar snide voice it must be another young man.

"So what if he was?" I demand turning around to glare at the man mocking me, but I sorta wished I hadn't even looked at him!

Right in front of me was a giant of a man and I'm not even kidding he's huge! At least a good 6'5" and very muscular as well, his hair was spiked up and a fire red color, his body was nice but from the way he was acting towards me and the way his light green eyes stared at me, with a cold hatred and something else that made me feel useless and unwanted, he didn't have the best personality.

"We don't like newcomers much." I feel hurt and stare at the ground shuffling my feet, he says this so easily as if it was something he just accepted.

"I know." My voice was barely a whisper to him, I could feel his stare burning into my head.

"My names Owen, I work in the Blacksmiths." His voice was a bit warmer as if he wasn't really the cold mean giant he was, but when I looked up a bit hopefully he stopped staring at me with pity and instead glared again.

"I'm Angela." Owen nods before turning away from me and walking into the opening that was probably the mine, I just realized my knees were shaking so I took a deep breath and continued walking.

I silently wonder that maybe if I had come to this island sooner I could have seen a much different welcome, a kinder greeting, and maybe made some friends. There's no use thinking about what could be.

I look to my right and see a place called Dale Carpentry, I shake my head two people that dislike me is enough for now thank you. I'm about to walk through the path on my right when I heard something that sounded like struggling in the small woods area. And without listening to my head, gut, and heart I walk over to investigate. Of course I do sense when have I listened to my instincts?

I stop when I reach a tree and I peak out behind it into a clearing where you wouldn't believe what I saw! I see a full grown man fighting with a boy who just barely looks sixteen! The man's back is turned from me but this doesn't look like play fighting whatsoever! One strong arm holds the teen in a huge chokehold the other is on the ground tapping it as if counting down how many seconds the teen wouldn't be able to get up, the man's knees are pressing into the teens back holding him down like that. I could hear him laughing!

"Monster! Let go of him!" I scream which scares the man into releasing the chokehold he has on the kid as I run towards him, tackling him to the ground.

Believe me if I had done that when he wasn't just strangling a child I probably wouldn't have been able to knock him over at all this was just pure luck that I was actually able to!

"Ow, what the hell is your problem?" He groans, his face in the dirt, mostly because I'm sitting on his back.

I lift myself off of him slightly letting him roll over to face his attacker but I keep my knees to either side of his legs and my hands are on his shoulders, though I'm not strong enough to do much, as I glare at him full force.

"What where you doing to that kid?" I demand angrily pointing over to the spikey haired kid who was slowly getting up.

"Teaching him some moves." I huff, alright sure so he says!

"Yeah right! The way I saw he could have easily died of suffocation if I wasn't here to stop you!" I yell,

The man scowls at me, I actually pay attention now and take a good look at his face. He has long dark blue hair, covered mostly by a slightly dirty blue flamed bandana. I froze suddenly when I stared into his eyes, they were unbelievably beautiful! They were a deep firey ember color that stared at me but not warmly like his color but coldly like he knows something deep and dark about me…and he hates it.

During my distracted time staring into those haunting eyes someone fiercely pushed me over, causing me to land painfully on my side. I coughed with the sudden force of that impact, the breath was knocked out of me and I held my side gritting my teeth in pain. I opened one eyes staring up at what had happened; that snot nosed little bastard child brat that I had saved helped that man up! I was furious!

"You okay Luke?" The teen asked looking slightly worried,

"Yep!" The man, who was seemingly named Luke, said with a grin and he dusted his pants off and reached to grab his axe, "Thanks Bo."

Luke turned his attention back onto me and he blankly stared at me for a moment before glaring full force at me,

"Word of advice stay out of our business! If you stay out of our way maybe people will accept you more." He growled out, I flinched away slightly.

Luke turned away from me, and the boy Bo did too, suddenly I was overcome with rage! I stood up quickly, opening my rucksack and threw a bag of Turnip seeds right at Luke's big fat head! And the aim was perfect, right when the bag of seeds hit him they split spilling seeds everywhere. I was breathing hard tears now blinded my vision.

"Why? Why did I even move here? Why does everyone hate me? I hate this place, I hate this place! I can't stand the people here, I try and be nice but everyone pushes me away! It's not fair…it's not fair!" I yell, I feel like a child as I cry but I no longer care, I'll never care again for as long as I live!

I was acting like a child and I knew it, I wiped my tears away seeing Bo and Luke staring at me, Bo had on a look on pity, Luke almost had on a guilty face and suddenly I could tell it wasn't in their nature to be cruel. But they learned how and they can't stop. Luke spoke again suddenly.

"I don't know why you moved here, everyone doesn't hate you they hate the idea of change, the idea of someone else getting close to them and betraying their trust. It's not fair but neither has what we've all been through." Luke and Bo turned and walked away leaving me alone with only the turnip seeds surrounding the area.

And I bent down and picked up every last one of them.

* * *

'_The rest of that day I worked my ass off on my farm trying to forget everything that happened. But things kept replaying and questions kept popping up, and as I laid down to sleep that day and every day after I couldn't help but feel guilty because maybe if I had come here earlier things wouldn't have been so difficult.'_


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own Harvest Moon, I only own this plot :)

'_After those incidents with the residents of the island I chose to simply stay by my house for a little over a week making sure to avoid everybody. That includes the mayor that came knocking on my door a few times, probably trying to see if I was still alive or not. I was finding it hard NOT to hate those people but then I realize, suddenly hating myself, that if I just hated them I'll be just like them no probably worse! And just that thought is something I can't stand.'_

* * *

I peaked stealthily outside through my windows, making sure Hamilton wasn't outside waiting for me before I walked out grinning to myself a new batch of Turnips were ready! I clicked my tongue as I checked the amount of money I have now, a little over 6,000G, I feel rich! I giggled to myself as I picked and shipped my Turnips without a care in the world.

Except one thing…

My stomach growled loudly and I stared down at it trying to shut the poor abused thing up, after all living off of uncooked vegetables and a few herbs isn't the best diet. I sigh, wipe the sweat from my forehead and figure I'd go visit the Inn I needed to stop being so anti-social and maybe talk a little or at least make their day by buying a lot more than I need to. I nod and walk away, done at least for today after all work is never done. With that depressing thought I walked towards the Inn.

I hesitated before gathering up whatever fake courage I pretended to have and pushed the doors…until I realized that it was a pull door. I groaned at my idiocy and leaned my head against the door, maybe if I slam my head against the door enough time I would get in, might be easier than relying on my brain power. I just dissed myself, I laughed bitterly before pulling the door open this time and stepping inside.

Maya turned around on the spot(she was facing away from me) when she heard little chimes of the bell to indicate someone had entered. Seeing me her fake smile fell quickly from that fake face of hers, I waved weakly smiling a bit.

"U-umm I'm here to order!" I say brightly, a bit nervous but hid it behind a smile maybe I'm learning to much from these people.

Maya looked as though she was being punked before breaking out into the first real smile and rushing me to a booth in the back, I barely even noticed it sense it was so far back there!

"Here take a seat! And a menu I'll be back in a little to take your order!" Maya spoke so fast that I barely understood anything that she just said, in that pretty little head it must have made sense though because she ran upstairs poor dear probably ran to go put a new entry in her diary I chuckled to myself she'd probably title it 'My first ever REAL Customer OMG!'

I almost broke out in full out laughter at my own sick joke, I took a deep breath when I heard the bell ring and two people stepped into the Inn my good mood suddenly fell to rock bottom when I saw who these two people were.

Luke and Gill. Perfect.

I groan and put my head on the table hoping they wouldn't notice me, but I felt two pairs of eyes on me and that made the back of my neck get unbearably hot. I jumped up when someone tapped my head. It was only Maya to my relief.

"Can I take your order?"

Maya asked gently tilting her head innocently enough, I cough a bit and order water and three things off the menu and by things I mean meals. Maya gives me a strange look and I almost become self conscious, don't judge me I'm hungry and the smell of food is killing me and hanging around here just makes me depressed so I'd rather bring enough for a few days for me. Of course I don't explain the reasoning of my three meals to Maya.

"Oh yeah Gill and Luke are going to sit over here, that's ok right? The other tables are reserved so I told them to sit here."

I look at her as though she just told me I was going to be shot at midnight, you know that helpless, fearful, and not to mention pitiful look that should make anyone want to hug someone and push away whatever might be causing said person grief; in my case Luke and Gill. But Maya smiled a bit more coldly than I'm becoming used to and walked away without my response.

Luke and Gill were suddenly there, Luke and Gill scooted over into the booths seat that was right across from me Luke looked as though he just tasted, smelled, and looked at something utterly disgusting(that made me look down at myself and feel a bit self-conscious) Gill looked as though he was bored out of his mind and forced to come here. They avoided eye contact with me, which made me look down at my hands pain searing into my heart. I wasn't wanted here and it made me want to leave, I was about to leave without the food before Gill spoke up stopping me.

"How's the farm?" He had asked and I glared a bit holding back an annoyed huff, like he cares at all. Knowing that I wanted to leave even more before my heart was crushed to pieces by the amount of hate these people feel for me.

"Good…I just harvested a new batch of turnips today, and I planted new potato seeds yesterday and I'm waiting for my herbs to finally be ready for harvesting!" I couldn't help but smile at this, and I realized something; farming was my sanctuary here it was what I felt kept me safe and what made me feel as though everything was worth it in the end. I knew my reason to stay…finally…finally I found one reason to keep me on this island.

In reaction to my excited words Gill simply shrugged an annoyed growl in his throat causing Luke to look over at him before finally looking me in the eye, I couldn't read the expression in his ember eyes and that scared me more than anything.

"You should start gathering and chopping wood and getting stones. If you get enough me, Bo, and dad will be able to upgrade your house or even upgrade your chicken and barn. It'll make things a lot easier for you I'm sure."

I stared at Luke for a second before looking down at my hands, "I don't have an axe or hammer."

There was a moment of silence before Luke spoke again, "Then I'll get you one of each!"

I looked up quickly, glaring suspiciously, shocked that he would be so generous but I know enough to not fall for it, Maya returned with the food but I looked at her.

"Box it okay?"

Maya looked confused but she nodded slightly, I returned my attention to Luke and Gill.

"Why? You didn't seem so keen on helping me before what's the difference now?"

Luke looked at Gill frowning, obviously not expecting this reaction from me Gill sighed leaning back staring blankly at me with chilly gaze,

"My father forced us when he saw you walk in here."

I sometimes wished Gill wouldn't be so straightforward or he'd just lie I sighed glad I asked Maya to box the food because suddenly my stomach was twisting very unhappily and it had nothing to do with the lack of food. I stood taking the boxes from Maya, giving her the money and a tip. And I storm out without looking back at them, pissed at them, pissed at me, just pissed in general.

After putting my food away I ran blindly towards the waterfall, I found that place very relaxing and I go there when I'm upset or hurt by something, which seems to be a lot lately. Soon I'm standing by the waterfall glaring at it as though it is it's fault everything's happened to me. I feel the spray of water on me and I shiver a bit but sit down simply staring at the waterfall marveling at how free it is.

"You're lucky." I murmur to the waterfall, "You can flow on forever with no worry and never-ending freedom."

A soft, slow laugh echoed from behind me and my head turns, spotting a young man walking over a fishing-pole almost lazily slung across his shoulder, he opens his eyes a bit to stare at me, they are a light green color which seems the exact opposite of his sky blue hair. I wonder silently if the people in this village dye their hair or if this is just another thing that maks this place different.

"The waterfall may seem free but look at how it is trapped in the same motion." His voice is slow, calming, relaxing and suddenly I feel better. The man sighs,

"It can't even rest…how depressing."

The mysterious man sits down next to me and throws out his line into the water.

"I'm Angela." I say suddenly, surprising myself.

"Toby." The man says softly, lazily I'm beginning to like his voice.

This was the extent of our conversation but I didn't mind it felt different than the other silences I had experienced here, it was so much calmer and no tension hung in the air between us. We sat there, bonding through the silence, suddenly he stands up and looks down at me, his bangs cover his eyes as he leans down to whisper something in my ear.

"Trust no one."

In that whisper I found no safety, I started to shiver uncontrollably every sound was louder than it should be so I covered my ears to try and block out the pounding of the waterfall and the sudden reality I was forced into. I could only here Toby's warning echoing in my ear, this warning is one I really should have listened to.

* * *

'_I was foolish, full of pride not to mention idiotic that if I could somehow make things better in this land then they wouldn't hate me so much. Now that I look back I wish so much that my view on my situation could have been so much better, maybe then I wouldn't regret everything so much…but I can only wish on fading stars.' _


	4. Chapter 3

'_There must have been a time once when the people smiled, when they looked at newcomers with hope and joy in their gazes because such a small island could only thrive when more people arrived. I landed too late to help, too late to see any kind of real smile from anyone, the smiles I get are from people who hate me the most it's such a shame I didn't learn that ahead of time because perhaps I wouldn't have been so hurt when the hatred of the actors hit me full force.'_

* * *

I remember a time when I used to sing when something was bothering me, when the songs on the radio or from a CD would fill my ears and take over my lungs and everything would be alright; I wouldn't feel the pain in me anymore and everything seemed to right itself. I would sing every day after meeting with Toby, I would sing into the damp morning air, sing into the ever warming evening atmosphere, and even into the darkness of the room before I closed my eyes to go to bed but nothing ever got better, the stares never got lighter, no one sang with me, and I'm so sure even the birds shunned my voice and never sang with me. Spring was ending quickly and Summer was taking it's place and I tried my hardest to remember the real date, the dates I were used to, the dates I used to circle on my calendar and if I didn't circle them on my calendar with each new day I knew I would forget, I feared of forgetting, of becoming more like these people because I was not like them! I wasn't, I remembered the past and what I had lost but I overcame it, I fought for normality but I supposed I failed in that battle because this place wasn't normal and it was pathetic how I was starting to view my life now as normal. I lowered myself to the grass after I was done watering my plants, I pulled my knees up and rested my head against them, one hand absentmindedly clutching my heart that was becoming numb to the pain of hatred, I didn't want to become numb to it though, I wanted it to hurt each time if only to prove that I was the exact opposite of these people.

I hummed a soft song, I had forgotten its name but the soft, chilling melody was forever engraved into my mind and there was something sad as my mind recalled the piano and violin that played so softly in the song. I didn't notice when someone called my name, I was too absorbed in the melody that was playing in my head and only when a shadow crossed over me did I jump to my feet, stumbling and losing my balance, fear so strong that it shot through my heart because I feared everyone that lived here, feared them all so much because of their hatred and perhaps because of Toby's warning what it might cause these people to do. A soft giggle made me actually look at who was standing in front of me; it was Eli with her blue dress and soft smile and suddenly I relaxed a bit because I wanted to believe that her smile was real, that she could be a real friend to me.

"Sorry to come so suddenly but I was wondering if you would care to join me for a picnic, only if you're done with work of course!"

She added the last part quickly; inspecting my farmland curiously as if she had a good enough eye to tell if a farmer's work had been completed; what do I know though maybe she does. I smile at her, dusting off my work pants and ignoring the slight nagging tone in the back of my head telling me to not get close to her.

"Sure! I'm done with work don't worry, where do you want to go for the picnic?"

She smiles a bit at this, "I was thinking by the blue flower in the Maple Lake District!"

I frown a bit, was the flower blue? I couldn't tell, each time I passed it the flower only seemed to get blacker from how wilted it seemed no matter how much rainfall happened to fall on it, the flower itself gave off this feeling that gave me chills and I loathed it and felt incredibly uncomfortable near it.

"O-okay!"

I tried to sound enthusiastic about it, she didn't seem to notice by hesitation or my slight stutter and of that I was thankful. I picked up my rucksack and walked off with her, she chatted about odd things, a little bit of this and a little bit of that but I didn't mind so much, I rather liked when someone else did the talking and she seemed more than a little happy from having someone willing to listen; I couldn't imagine Gill being the best person or most understanding guy to work with.

We stood next to the tree and the talking abruptly stopped and she got down on her knees and seemed to be praying, praying to the wilting flower that refused to fully die, the color that must have once been blue seemed black, a ting of midnight blue along the edges. Eli shoots me a glare, the first hateful look I have ever gotten from her and she stands up after she is done muttering some prayer and turns towards me slowly, I back up a bit.

"Why have you not shown any respect towards the Harvest Sprite?"

Her voice is accusatory and demanding and I flinch a bit, what is she talking about? There is no Harvest Sprite, only a dead flower under a tree that seems to sink forward in a sorrow I cannot fully comprehend.

"What Harvest Sprite?"

I asked her softly, trying not to upset her but suddenly she is a different person, rage fills her once kind eyes and she jumps forward and slaps me across the face and the sound it makes is loud and stinging and I feel her nails scrap my cheek and flinch at the pain I feel. I look back at her; there are tears in her eyes, a look of hatred and betrayal as if I had just been the one to slap her in the face. She stomps her foot like a child would do in a fit of a tantrum and points directly at the wilted flower.

"How can you not tell that this beautiful blue flower is the home of a Harvest Sprite? It has to be obvious! After all the Harvest Sprites and Harvest Goddess have given us do you not believe in them? You're terrible and no good and completely rotten!"

I step back in horror as she goes on and on about the greatness of the Harvest Sprites and Harvest Goddess and when her hands make a wide gesture above the tree and I look in spite of myself.

"Can you not see the everlasting rainbow? Why else would the rainbows in Waffle Island never disappear if it was not for the work of the Harvest Sprites blessing us with the Harvest Goddess' love?"

I look and squint hard at the tree but I do not see anything, there are no rainbows in the sky, no beautiful blue flower on the ground. There is nothing to see but the crying tree, wilting black flower, and the dead open sky above that holds nothing, not even a hint of clouds and definitely not one rainbow.

"There are no rainbows."

I say this gently but right away she is screaming bloody murder, her eyes going wide in pain, she is holding her head and shaking it roughly, denying, denying the facts that spur out of her mouth. She is telling me in desperation that the Harvest Goddess is still there, the rainbows shine all day and night, that everyone is still happy and smiling, she is suddenly holding onto me, clawing into my arms and demanding me to tell her that she is right, that everyone is happy, that the Harvest Goddess hasn't just left them, tears fill her desperate eyes and spill down her young cheeks and she looks so afraid but I don't know if I could lie to her.

Gill is there in seconds, he takes her from me and hushes at her, giving her a book that looks like a bible and tells her to go read it, that everything will be much better once she does and she clings to the book for dear life, sobbing and crying and nodding her head.

"She didn't leave us alone right Gill?"

Her voice is desperate, she needs his reassurance that everything remains the same and for a moment I think Gill might be honest, might tell her no that everything is not the same, that things will never be the same, that they are not happy and are made to hate everyone new that walks into this place but he does not say that, he is silent for a moment before he nods.

"She's here Eli, she's always here."

He says softly and Eli does not care that his voice is soft and unsure, that he looks guilty she only cares about the words he just spoke and she smiles again and runs back to her home or perhaps to the City Hall in order to soak up everything, in order to keep herself in this delusion she has created for herself. When she leaves I look at him with a shocked expression on my face, he is avoiding my stare but waits for the question he knows will appear.

"Why did you tell her such a lie?"

He looks at me now, staring at me with that ever present calmness he holds and chilled blue eyes, his hand rose to his head to smooth down the piece of hair that always seems to never stay down though I assume it was more of a habit for him than anything. He stuffs his hands now in his pocket and sighs a bit, looking at the open blue sky now.

"I rather her be happy and ignorant while living in a fantasy world of what used to be than live in a world where there is no longer anything to smile about."

It is sad, how desperately sad he sounds without even sounding sad and I wondered if he once loved that girl before she became reliant on her false life now, on memories long forgotten by everyone here. His head lowers, bangs dropping down to shadow his face and I nearly reach out because from where I am standing he looks simply like a young man that was forced to grow up before he was ready to, the needs to act the leader for everyone else because no one else but him can do it. His head snaps up right before I touch his shoulder and he slaps my hand away, glaring at me with hatred that does nothing but cause me pain and make me wish to harden my heart even though I have tried to convince myself that doing such things can only make me more like them, my hand itches to cover my heart, to make sure that it can still beat because never before has such pure loathing been directed at me.

"Don't you dare touch me, don't you dare feel pity towards me or anyone else here, it would be better if you leave, we don't want you here and we don't need you here."

He turns abruptly and stalks off in his anger leaving me all alone, my hands fell to my side, my body shaking a bit.

"I would leave…if I had anywhere else to go."

I was lost, I was all alone in a world I couldn't fully grasp or understand with nowhere else to call a home anymore. I sank to the grass and held back my tears, it was a terrible feeling; being alone.

* * *

'_Sometimes I wished I could hide in a delusional world where everyone loves me, where rainbows shine all day and night, where Harvest Sprites dance and sing in the clouds with a laughing Harvest Goddess next to them. Sometimes I wish they looked at me with adoration and love instead of disgust and hate, but I never allowed myself the pleasure of indulging in that fantasy because I didn't want to be like Eli who refused to see the truth staring her right in the face.' _


End file.
